Kelly Ortberg

Kelly Ortberg
Chairman, FIRST Board of Directors
Former Chairman and CEO of Rockwell Collins and CEO of Collins Aerospace

Kelly Ortberg is former Chairman and CEO of Rockwell Collins and CEO of Collins Aerospaces and a member of the company’s board of directors.  

Ortberg brings more than 30 years of experience in aerospace and defense, including numerous executive positions. Prior to his current role, he was CEO of Collins Aerospace and had also served as chairman and CEO of Rockwell Collins. Before that, he was executive vice president and chief operating officer of the company’s Government Systems business and chief operating officer of its Commercial Systems business.

He led Rockwell Collins through the two largest acquisitions in the company’s history with the purchase of B/E Aerospace in 2017 and of ARINC in 2013, and he led the company to a place on the Fortune 500 list. Under Ortberg’s leadership, Rockwell Collins was named one of the world’s most ethical companies by the Ethisphere Institute and one of the United States’ best large employers by Forbes.

Ortberg currently serves as chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association and the co-chairman of the board of directors of FIRST, an organization that hosts annual robotics competitions in schools. Additionally, he serves on the board of directors of Aptiv PLC, a global technology company and an industry leader in vehicle systems architecture, as well as on the Engineering Advisory Board of the University of Iowa Engineering Advisory Board. 

Ortberg holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Iowa.